Since their release, the Apple machines featuring the new M1 processors have made a very good impression on tech reviewers (with the exception of the iPad Pros that reportedly have software issues that don't harness the power as well as previous iterations). They have been extensively benchmarked and results are very impressive.
The new processors address several issues from previous generations of Apple machines;
loud fan noise
battery life
heat
CPU/GPU processing power
energy use
Essentially, the new M1 chips that Apple design & manufacture have extremely good performance and require far less energy. The chips stay cooler under load and fan noise is greatly reduced or non-existent.
These machines are benchmarking extremely well. In some cases the base model mac mini (~$700) is reportedly producing results that outperform previous generations of Mac pro computers that come in for $15,000.
You can purchase these machines direct from Apple of course, but if you head over to Amazon you can buy the same machine, but at an 8-11% discount - and it is still coming from Apple, it's just that it is sold through Amazon. There appears to be a little less variety on Amazon, but for the standard/base models of certain products there is enough choice.
When we are talking about such expensive machines, these savings are obviously worth pursuing.
The cheapest models are the Mac Mini M1 which is a small form factor computer, and in terms of laptops there is the Macbook Air M1 where the price difference is ~£110 ! Not bad !